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TRANSFORM AND EXPAND THE WAY YOUR HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS ARE VIEWED, ACCESSED AND UTILIZED.

AND LET YOUR HISTORY INFORM THE FUTURE.



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22

Contents WINTER 2018 VOLUME 73, #1

PAGE

29

Departments

3 On Doing Local History

By Hope Shannon with Carol Kammen

5 The Whole is Greater

By AASLH Diversity and Inclusion Task Force

34 Book Reviews

By Hannah Hethmon and Ty Pierce

37 AASLH News

PAGE

37

Features

7 Investing in the Ecosystem

By Amanda L. Higgins and Patrick A. Lewis

12 Emerging Labor: Work and the New Public Historic Historian

By Jess Lamar Reece Holler

16 Talking about Slavery When Your Museum Wants to Avoid It

By Cait Johnson

22 Hungry for History: Bringing Social Studies Back to Alabama

By Caroline Gibbons

29 "Do You Have Anything in Your Museum about Me?"

By Breann Velasco

ON THE COVER This wordle is created from some of the key words and phrases that guest editor Hope Shannon identified as important to the discussion within

this issue.

INSIDE: TECHNICAL LEAFLET

Get to Work: Crafting Cover Letters and R?sum?s for Emerging Professionals

By Michael Dove and Krista McCracken

THE MAGAZINE OF THE AMERICAN ASSOCIATION FOR STATE AND LOCAL HISTORY

History News is a publication of the American Association for State and Local History (AASLH). History News exists to foster publication, scholarly research, and an open forum for discussion of best practices, applicable theories, and professional experiences pertinent to the field of state and local history.

EDITOR Bob Beatty | MANAGING EDITOR Aja Bain | ADVERTISING Darah Fogarty DESIGN Go Design, LLC: Gerri Winchell Findley, Suzanne Pfeil

History News (ISSN0363-7492) is published quarterly by American Association for State and Local History, 2021 21st Avenue S., Suite 320, Nashville, TN 37212. Periodicals Postage Paid at Nashville, Tennessee. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to History News, 2021 21st Avenue S., Suite 320, Nashville, TN 37212.

Article manuscripts dealing with all aspects of public history are welcome, including current trends, timely issues, and best practices for professional development and the overall improvement of the history field, particularly articles that give a fresh perspective to traditional theories, in-depth case studies that reveal applicable and relevant concepts, and subject matter that has the ability to resonate throughout all levels of the field. For information on article submissions and review, see about.history-news. Single copies are $10. Postmaster, send form 3579 to History News, AASLH, 2021 21st Avenue S., Suite 320, Nashville, TN 37212. Periodical postage paid in Nashville, Tennessee. Entire contents copyrighted ?2018 by the American Association for State and Local History. Opinions expressed by contributors are not necessarily those of the American Association for State and Local History.

2021 21st Avenue S., Suite 320 Nashville, Tennessee 37212 615-320-3203 Fax 615-327-9013 membership@ advertising@

AASLH

From the Editor

From the Guest Editors

Welcome to the first-ever takeover of History News! While we accept articles from anyone regardless of career stage, this is the first issue written and edited entirely by those who identify themselves as Emerging History Professionals.

We are grateful for the work that guest editors Hope Shannon and Hannah Hethmon put into this edition of History News. They were the ideal people to lead this effort. Hannah was the AASLH staffer who founded the Emerging History Professionals affinity community and Hope was its first chair.

The insight and thought that Hope, Hannah, and these authors bring to their work and our profession reflects people doing relevant, inspired history. You will see from the articles within that the field is in very good hands as the next generation asserts itself in even greater leadership roles in public history.

Many history professionals--whether emerging, emerged, or at another career stage--will no doubt benefit from Michael Dove and Krista McCracken's

Technical Leaflet, "Get to Work: Crafting Cover Letters and R?sum?s for Emerging Professionals." Having only recently discovered the wonderful world of podcasts, I was particularly pleased to see Hannah's review of one of my favorites: Museum People. You are sure to find your own personal favorite(s) as well.

No matter what career stage a person is in, I believe we should grant all of our peers the moniker of "professional" if they take their work as assiduously as these writers and their compatriots do--submitting articles, presenting at conferences, and doing terrific work in communities across the nation.

This issue of History News, conceived, written, and edited entirely by Emerging History Professionals, proves my point. Well done, fellow history professionals. By any standard or measure, you have emerged!

Bob Beatty

The Winter 2018 issue of History News is the result of a vision Bob Beatty had last year for a special take-

over or "hack" of AASLH's long-running magazine. His

idea was to hand History News over to the field's

newest practitioners--sometimes

called "emerging" professionals--

to produce an issue that centers

around their perspectives and show-

cases their thoughts on problems

and trends in the field. Emerging

professionals include anyone in the

early stages of a public history ca-

Hannah Hethmon

reer, from students and new profes-

sionals to hobbyists, and their knowledge and insight

bring new life to our ever-changing discipline. Bob

asked us to lead the project and co-edit the special

issue, and we're pleased to share with you the culmi-

nation of these efforts.

From the start, we knew that there had to be a

shift in process, not just content, to maximize the impact

and success of a History News written almost entirely by

emerging professionals. Our primary goal was to produce

an issue that highlights their perspectives, but we also

wanted to provide a learning experience for everyone who

submitted an abstract. For many applicants, submitting

proposals for this issue of History News was their first

attempt at publication. We provided extensive feedback

for the submissions we had to decline and are hopeful

that these comments will help applicants prepare for

future opportunities.

The articles we ultimately included in this issue reflect

how Emerging History Professionals are thinking critically

about the field and its sustainability. The authors aren't

afraid to tackle difficult history or push back against prac-

tices they believe are unethical or harmful. Jess Lamar

Reece Holler addresses pressing labor concerns facing

public historians, while Amanda L. Higgins and Patrick A.

Lewis consider the role partnerships can play in preparing

history Ph.D.s for careers in public history. Cait Johnson,

Caroline Gibbons, and Breann Velasco offer their takes

on changes and tough conversations

happening at their institutions, which

should provide insight for readers facing

similar problems in their own practice.

The columns from Hope Shannon and

AASLH's Diversity and Inclusion Task

Force, the reviews by Hannah Hethmon

Hope Shannon

and Ty Pierce, and the Technical Leaflet by Michael Dove and Krista McCracken

complete this special issue of History News.

We want to thank Bob Beatty and AASLH for inviting us

to co-edit the first-ever "hack" of History News, our con-

tributing authors for sharing their experiences and insights,

and Carol Kammen for allowing us to take over her "On

Doing Local History" column. We hope our collective effort

opens doors for the next generation of public historians

and provides a model for how other associations and orga-

nizations can better support early career professionals.

Hannah Hethmon Hope Shannon

2 WINTER 2018

On Doing Local History

By Hope Shannon with Carol Kammen

Local Historians, Politics, and the Public Good

The political discourse swirling around the 2016 presidential election elicited a groundswell of grassroots activism across the United States. As I watched these events unfold, I wondered what role local history and local historians played in all of this. Our day-to-day lived experiences are heavily influenced by the local policies and environments in which we live and work, and these places are often the frontline for battles over issues of both personal and broader significance. What's curious is we don't often see local historians taking part in these conversations, even though local activists, politicians, and other changemakers invoke local history in debates about everything from sanctuary cities to municipal ordinances. There are local historians doing this work, certainly, but many more are not visibly engaged in these conversations.

This led me to wonder about the intersections between local history and the political. What is the relationship between the two? What spaces do local history and the local historian occupy in discussions about political matters and the public good?

Carol Kammen and I explored these questions together. Carol welcomed me to her long-running column and allowed me to flip the script, so to speak, for this edition of "On Doing Local History." We focused on two big intersections between local history and politics: the place of political narratives in local history and local history's role in debates about public life in the present. We discussed how these relationships have changed over time, what this means for local historians practicing today, and how local historians can engage with political issues in their communities.

In the interest of building local histories that support the status quo or build love of place, local historians have, historically, tended to avoid or skirt around political topics that provoke divisiveness. "There is an originalist narrative created in local history that is apolitical," Carol says. "The founders of a place and the way it was set up are celebrated in a way that leaves out diversity and controversy.

The history comes out of a need to keep people there." This makes it difficult for anyone to controvert the established narrative. "The conventions of local history, it seems to me, are to make people understand the past but feel good about place."1

By focusing on place, local historians have often neglected to consider in any complex way the past's political issues. "Local historians will rarely talk about a political election. They will rarely talk

When I started doing

local history, I was

disturbed by the people

who weren't there.

about a strike or unions. When I started doing local history, I was disturbed by the people who weren't there. My interest was in the people. Over time, local history has changed, responding to academic trends, but it is still promotional of place," Carol explains. "We don't tend to look at inequality. Yet, we can certainly look back and see inequalities in our communities."

Additionally, local historians are seldom political about the important role local history can and does play in their neighborhoods and communities. By political, we mean they do not fight for the resources they need to amplify their work or to demonstrate the local and national relevance of the history they study. Local history is typically not well-funded and is generally not considered to be part of the panacea of essential civic services, like schools, police and fire stations, and other municipally funded agencies. We are not, Carol argues, "presenting local history to the community in a way that makes a statement about how important local history is. We should be advocating for the value of what we do."

Why is this? The passion is certainly there. Local historians are consummate researchers who study and write about everything from streetcars to local fam-

ilies to recreation. They share their findings in books, public programs, and walking tours, often in partnership with local historical societies and libraries. And yet, this does not yield any kind of sustained support from funding agencies or the majority of residents in any particular area. Broader interest in local history resurges from time to time in response to historical anniversaries or commemorations--the United States Bicentennial is a good example of this phenomenon--but widespread public support rarely lasts.

For local historians, part of the issue with advocating for the importance of local history and building broad public understanding of its relevance is how to involve others in local history work. Audiences rarely join in the creation of historical knowledge and often do not share a comparable level of investment in the material or its message. Carol provides a comparison to exemplify this point. "This is a big difference between local historical societies and preservation societies. In order to save that building or do something, the preservationists enlist people to support them and work with them, and they give those people real jobs. They put hammers in the hands of their supporters, and they march in the streets and appear at public meetings. That's a lesson historical societies and local historians need to learn. Local history has not given its public much of a purpose. But preservationists try to give others a stake. Even if their supporters lose a building, they begin to look at their communities with new eyes. We need more of this in local history. People become involved because they're discovering it themselves. They're learning about it by doing."

This is not to say that no local historians do this work. Many incorporate complex issues from the past into their local histories, fight for resources and visibility, and put their knowledge to work in contemporary conversations about local, regional, and even national problems. This results from decades of hard work, introspection, and, in the case of struggling local historical societies, attempts to reinvent their

HISTORY NEWS 3

On Doing Local History >

organizations to make sure they remain relevant and stable far into the future.

For example, the Cambridge (MA) Historical Society held a symposium in fall 2016 called "Housing for All," where a panel of discussants considered concerns related to local housing through a historical lens. The panel invited audience comment, and attendees were encouraged to contribute their own housing stories.

The Nashville Public Library opened its Civil Rights Room to serve a similar purpose. The space hosts a collection and exhibition dedicated to civil rights history in Nashville, Tennessee, as well as programs designed to build connections between the history of the Civil Rights Movement and related struggles facing Nashville residents in the present.2

These examples help to illuminate the paths we need to take to make clear the connections between past and present, serve the public in a meaningful way, and demonstrate the relevance of our discipline. Building these foundations

provides opportunities for local historians to bring the past into conversations about problems we're grappling with today. We're on the right path, but there is still much work to be done.

We need to continue the work of complicating local history narratives. "Local history and local historians have tended to paint the past as issue-free," Carol argues. "It all relates to what we're doing today. All history picks up its questions from current issues." We need to look beyond the importance of place to the core issues underlying local spaces, both today and in the past. In understanding and resolving today's problems, she posits, "local history has a really important part to play." The issues have deep historical roots, but just how deep has only recently begun to emerge in local narratives.

We also need to use local history to build bridges between diverse communities. Many local historians work through local historical societies, which have, historically, been associated with white audiences. It has only been in the past half-century that histories of women, people of color, LGBTQ people, and

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other underrepresented groups have been seriously considered in academic settings, and even more recently in narratives produced at the local level. But local history has happened beyond these boundaries for millennia. Having a sense of one's own past and place in history is a uniquely human experience that we all share. We should use local history to create spaces where people can come together and, as Carol says, "reflect on a complex past."

Connecting past to present is an essential component of practicing history. It's not just about researching and writing about stories from the past. It's about sharing the experience of being a historian in a way that builds appreciation for the historian's craft, invites others in, and makes this important work more visible and accessible. Ultimately, Carol reports, "local history can have a very positive effect on social justice and change. Local history has a role to play in how a place learns to do differently. And we're moving in this direction. But it's a case we need to make where people see it as part of their contribution. Some do, but more do not. The most they would say is that they are community boosters. Or they provide information for the community. This is a real problem." We need to be on the frontlines of today's debates, and we need to advocate for our work, for each other, and for the public we serve. t

Hope Shannon is a public history

professional and historian. She

has designed and led a wide

array of projects and initiatives

with community partners engaged in cultural

work on the local level. Hope is also a former

Executive Director at the South End Historical

Society in Boston, where she wrote Legendary

Locals of Boston's South End. Email her at

hopejshannon@ or reach out to her

on Twitter @HistorianHope.

Dorfman Conservation Forms created exclusively with Ethafoam?

brand inert polyethylene foam.



800-634-4873

"On Doing Local History" is intended to encourage dialogue on the essential issues of local history. Carol Kammen can be reached at ckk6@cornell.edu.

1 All quotes derive from discussions via phone and email between Hope Shannon and Carol Kammen in July and August 2017.

2 See Heidi Legg and Marieke Van Damme, "If You Are Slowly Improving Citizens, You Get a Better City," History News 72, no. 4, and Laura Caldwell Anderson, "Sharing Nashville's Civil Rights Past with the Police," History News, 71, no. 3.

4 WINTER 2018

Photos Marian Carpenter, American Association for State and Local History

The Whole is Greater

By The AASLH Diversity and Inclusion Task Force

Ready to Listen, Speak, and Act: The

AASLH Diversity and Inclusion Task Force

In 2018, are we really diverse and inclusive in the fields of arts and humanities? The answer is NO! The recent social unrest of mass demonstrations by white supremacist groups in Charlottesville, Virginia; the end of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA); and the degrading language used by President Donald Trump to belittle the protest of police brutality toward African Americans initiated by National Football League player Colin Kaepernick has compelled arts and humanities organizations and institutions to respond to the issue of race, inclusion, and equality and to not remain silent.

A 2015 self-examination of the AASLH Council revealed that the organization needed to be more diverse and inclusive. It formed the AASLH Diversity and Inclusion Task Force to ensure that AASLH advocates and practices the acceptance of all voices and views, representing a diverse range of race, ethnicity, culture, disabilities, gender identity, and sexual orientation through its programs, activities, and membership. The task force mission statement is: "Everyone makes history. Relevant history is inclusive history. So, we are investing in forward-thinking scholarship, expanding the diversity of our field, and choosing partners who make equity a priority."

The Diversity and Inclusion Task Force hosted a successful mixer at the 2017 AASLH Annual Meeting in Austin.

The AASLH Diversity and Inclusion Task Force serves as an advisor to the AASLH Council and staff. It also sponsors programs and activities for AASLH members and professionals in the arts and humanities. In 2017, the task force proposed a new vision that included more collaboration and diverse

viewpoints and cultures. The task force increased its membership to ten in order to invite the participation of new and non-AASLH members.

At the AASLH 2017 Annual Meeting in Austin, Texas, which had the theme I AM History, the task force sponsored "The State of Inclusion" session in

THE AASLH DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION TASK FORCE

Marian Carpenter (chair) The Ringling Museum of Art (2016-2018) Omar Eaton-Mart?nez National Museum of American History (2016-2018) Enimini Ekong Brown v. Board of Education National Heritage Site (2017-2018) Veronica Gallardo Fort Monroe Authority (2016-2018) Amanda Jasso Austin Public Library (2017-2018) Richard Josey Minnesota Historical Society (2017-2018) M?nica Moncada Independent Professional (2016-2018) Julia Rose Homewood Museum (2016-2018) Kimberly Springle Charles Sumner School Museum and Archives (2017-2018) Chris Taylor Minnesota Historical Society (2016-2018) Tobi Voigt Michigan History Center (2016-2018)

HISTORY NEWS 5

OFFICERS 2016?2018

AASLH

Katherine Kane, Chair; Harriet Beecher Stowe Center

John Fleming, Vice Chair; National Museum of African American Music

Julie Rose, Immediate Past Chair; Homewood Museum

Norman Burns, II, Treasurer; Conner Prairie

Linnea Grim, Secretary; Thomas Jefferson's Monticello

Erin Carlson Mast, Council's Representative; President Lincoln's Cottage

STAFF Aja Bain, Program and Publications Coordinator Bob Beatty, History News and Publications Editor Cherie Cook, Senior Program Manager John R. Dichtl, President and CEO Natalie Flammia, Education and Service Coordinator Darah Fogarty, Marketing Coordinator Bethany L. Hawkins, Chief of Operations Terry Jackson, Membership and Database Coordinator John Garrison Marks, External Relations Coordinator

COUNCIL Bill Adair, Class of 2018; Pew Center for Arts & Heritage Melanie Adams, Class of 2020; Minnesota Historical Society Dina A. Bailey, Class of 2018; Mountain Top Vision, LLC Marian Carpenter, Class of 2019; John and Mable Ringling

Museum of Art Lisa Eriksen, Class of 2021; Lisa Eriksen Consulting Kim Fortney, Class of 2020; National History Day Leigh A. Grinstead, Class of 2018; LYRASIS Jennifer Kilmer, Class of 2019; Washington State Historical

Society Stacy Klingler, Class of 2021; William Butterworth Foundation Nicola Longford, Class of 2018; The Sixth Floor Museum at

Dealey Plaza Kyle McKoy, Class of 2020; Mercer Museum and Fonthill Castle Brent Ott, Class of 2021; The Henry Ford Sarah Pharaon, Class of 2019; International Coalition of

Sites of Conscience Trina Nelson Thomas, Class of 2021; Stark Art & History Venues Scott Wands, Class of 2020; Connecticut Humanties

The Whole is Greater >

partnership with the American Library Association and the Society of American Archivists for the Committee on Archives, Libraries, and Museums. The discussion encouraged conference attendees to examine the practice of diversity and inclusion in the areas of employment, policies and procedures, and programs/activities. The panelists and session moderator shared personal stories and engaged the audience in direct conversation about the status of inclusion in the arts and humanities. The number of questions and comments from panelists and attendees energized the conversation. It also confirmed that in 2017 the field is still not diverse and inclusive enough. The AASLH Diversity and Inclusion Task Force also hosted its first mixer at the annual meeting, which attracted many first-time AASLH members and conference attendees. The task force received feedback requesting more social events to encourage interaction and networking among people of color and other underrepresented groups.

The Diversity and Inclusion Task Force is ready to LISTEN,

SPEAK, and ACT.

For 2018, the Diversity and Inclusion Task Force is ready to LISTEN, SPEAK, and ACT. The task force will have an even greater presence at the 2018 AASLH Annual Meeting in Kansas City. In connection with the theme, Truth or Consequences, it will host several conference activities that will offer more training and resources on how to practice inclusion, as well as organize more social events. Community collaboration and participation will be a new initiative for the task force to introduce AASLH to a wider audience and to help preserve the history of all people. t

To learn more about the AASLH Diversity and Inclusion Task Force, contact chair Mari Carpenter at Marian.Carpenter@ or Natalie Flammia, AASLH staff liaison to the task force at flammia@.

6 WINTER 2018

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